title: Babesiosis as a cause of fever in patients undergoing a splenectomy.
abstract: Babesiosis is an emerging infection most commonly acquired from a tick bite. We describe three hospitalized patients with fever attributable to babesiosis after a splenectomy. Splenectomy was done because of splenic enlargement due to unsuspected babesia infection in one patient and because of splenic perforation due to babesiosis in a second patient. The third patient underwent splenectomy for trauma and acquired babesiosis postoperatively from a blood transfusion. Our cases demonstrate the need to be vigilant for babesiosis in patients undergoing splenectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York 10595, USA. gary_wormser@nymc.edu
authors.forename: Gary P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Wormser
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lombardo
authors.forename: Fredric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Silverblatt
authors.forename: Marc Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: El Khoury
authors.forename: Aakanksha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.forename: Jay A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Yelon
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sanda
authors.forename: Sadiqa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karim
authors.forename: Lindita
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Coku
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Savino
mesh_terms: D001404:Babesiosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D005334:Fever / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013156:Splenectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013158:Splenic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000601:surgery*; D065227:Transfusion Reaction; D055815:Young Adult